Edwin the Mordish Bastard
Early Life Edwin was born the bastard son of a Mordish bar wench. His father could possibly have been any among the number of Mordish pirates and traveling sailors who frequented the tavern where his mother sold her services. But his was not so bleak a childhood. Left to his own devices, Edwin would listen to the tall tales of sailors and pirates, of adventures, great fortune and fame. As a young boy, Edwin learned a great many things from this environment. Mostly notably, how to entertain a room and hold their attention, how to get people intoxicated with spirits and their own stories, in order to pry valuable information from them, and how to gamble. And thus, Edwin began to run con jobs on the patrons of the tavern. Mostly harmless at first, he sought swindle drunken pirates of their recently plundered booty, or to take a bit of wages from sailors. A formative experience was when he was 13, and tried to cheat a pirate captain at a game of dice. Edwin figured the captain to be quite drunk, but the salty captain was on to Edwin’s con and was feigning intoxication. Caught red-handed, the captain's men gave Edwin quite the beating. But the captain picked the boy up, said “You’ll be needin’ to learn to do better than that, if you want to best me”, and placed a set of loaded dice into Edwin’s hand. Throughout the rest of his teens and into his mid-twenties, Edwin travelled around Mordwich, swindling travelers and sailors, cheating away their money at dice, and selling or taking advantage of whatever information they drunkenly divulged. Always he spent his earnings liberally, showering those around him, and especially himself, in an unending barrage of wine, women and song… at least until the money ran out. These binges would inevitably result in Edwin spending a drunken night or two in a gutter before picking himself up and running the next con. Recent History Edwin was drinking with a group of pirates who had recently returned from a journey. Late into the evening, all had bedded down, save for one. Sensing an opportunity, Edwin ordered him another round of strong drink, and inquired into the pirate's most recent journey. The pirate regaled Edwin with a tale of high-seas adventure, an island with a hidden cave, and a load of treasure the likes of which the pirate had only dreamed of. In particular, their captain, the dreaded pirate Captain Errol, fancied a golden chalice as the finest piece in the lot. In fact, Captain Errol kept the chalice on his desk onboard his ship, the Scurvy Marie. Edwin had noticed the captain in the tavern earlier in the evening, going upstairs, and with Edwin's own mother no less! Bidding the drunken pirate goodnight, Edwin snuck down to the docks, stealthily boarded the Scurvy Marie, and entered the captain's chamber through the window on the stern side. Sure enough, the golden chalice sat there glistening in the moonlight. Edwin took it for himself, and slinked away in the night. Edwin then contacted his fence, a halfling named Panver, but Panver was wise enough to not get involved. He did suggest that Edwin could use the chalice to buy his way into a high stakes gambling event in Othery in order to convert the chalice to cash. Unable to resist a bet, and full of confidence in his gambling abilities, Edwin set out for Othery. Upon arrival and entrance into the illicit gambling event, Edwin should have realized he was in over his head. Unbeknownst to him, many of the most powerful criminals and duplicitous merchants in the Accord Lands were there, looking for high stakes fun. Still, Edwin's confidence was high. He'd stolen the chalice, and he'd swindled many a man at dice, so surely he could handle these highbrowed fat cats. Sadly for Edwin, he was mistaken. The more experienced conmen let Edwin's confidence build through early victories, only to turn the tables and completely clean Edwin out. His prized chalice lost, he was quickly tossed out on the street. Sullen, Edwin returned to the docks in order to sneak aboard a ferry back to his tavern in Mordwich. However, shortly out to sea, the Scurvy Marie appeared and pulled alongside the ferry. The pirates loudly proclaimed it was Edwin they were looking for, and began tossing the boat. Edwin fortunately had his disguise kit with him, and quickly dressed as an older man. The pirates from the tavern searched all the passengers, but did not recongize him. Edwin landed back on Mordwich, but knew well enough not to return to his tavern. He laid low, sleeping in back alleys or under the thatch of rooftops for a few days, trying to scheme a plan. One evening, he overheard the quiet whispers of conspiring men. They spoke of an entrance to the old Imperial Dungeon having been found, and that brave adventurers were being permitted to explore it, for a price. Seeing this as his opportunity for untold riches and fame, and as a way to buy his way out of Captain Errol's quest for revenge, Edwin set out to return to Othery. Category:PCs Category:Chaotic Good